Jury selection in the Hulk Hogan vs Gawker trial began yesterday, kicking off a trial that is expected to last three weeks. Nearly 500 potential jurors were summoned, all mostly from Hogan’s area, and around 100 of those were told to return today. The Associated Press reported that the jurors did not like the fact that the trial is going to last that long.
Before he entered the courtroom, the former WWE and WCW champion told his millions of Twitter fans that it’s time for the “real main event.” He said that he’s going to slam another giant and then wrote, “Watcha Gonna Do Gawker? Only Justice Brother.”
It’s the first time that a celebrity is suing for a sex tape publication and a victory for Hogan will create a precedent that will impact celebrity news websites when it comes to news.
Hogan is suing Gawker for $100 million after the website published parts of his sex tape video back in 2012, six years after it was recorded. Hogan is citing violation of privacy while Gawker is standing behind the First Amendment and saying that they were right to publish the video since Hogan talked about his sex life before, making the news of interest to the public.
